Man 'tried to abduct girl, 10' on country lane

A TEN-YEAR-OLD girl was panicked and frightened when a man tried to abduct her a on quiet country road near Selby, a court has heard.

The girl was walking her dog on a lane when David Wain, 56, allegedly approached her on September 12 last year.

Wain, of Marsh Lane, Bolton Percy, is on trial for attempted child abduction, but has denied the charge.

The court heard from the young girl, who cannot be identified, who told of her panic when she saw a small black car on the narrow lane.

As she ran away, the driver got out of his car and shouted: “Don’t be scared, just come here and get in the car.”

Prosecutor Michele Stuart-Lofthouse told the court the girl ran home and told her mother what had happened. Her mother and neighbours managed to find Wain, block his car, and keep him there until the police arrived.

When he was interviewed the next day, Wain told officers he had got lost and was merely asking for directions to Fairburn – where he had recently moved into a new home, the court heard.

A neighbour said he spotted a black car moving slowly along the lane.

He said: “I thought it was dubious because I know everyone who lives down there, and I know all the relatives.

“To me it was a car that was out of place.”

He told the court how he had turned away, but looked back moments later when he heard a shout and saw the driver out of his car and stopped in his tracks in the road.

The witness said the driver then rushed back to his car and drove away.

But defence barrister Glenn Parsons said Wain had not got out of his car, and had not shouted at the girl.

Mr Parsons said: “The driver said he just wound the window down and asked ‘can you point me in the direction of Fairburn?’ “He said he didn’t get out of the car.